RL Hira is the place to go for those slightly exotic things you can't find anywhere else. They've…read moregot a wide variety of ethnic foods (including Indian, Japanese, Thai, and Polish) and a huge and inexpensive spice section. The staff are friendly and helpful, and this is one of the few places in the area that's open on Christmas, which is a godsend if you've forgotten something on the day.

This is an excellent store which sells a wide variety of ethnic foods, as well as useful…read morenewsagent/corner shop items. The prices are very reasonable, certainly in line with what other similar stores in the area are charging. For many products (e.g., dried spices), they are much cheaper than supermarkets. There are other shops in the area which have a slightly larger selection of fresh meat and vegetables, but it's not really the fault of this store as there isn't the space for much more fresh produce, and besides, they seem to have a good selection of popular fresh items in any case (e.g., onions, chilli peppers, herbs, etc). At the front of the store by the entrance, they also have a delicious fresh food counter, filled with samosas, bhajis and the like they are absolutely delicious! There are a number of ethnic food stores in the Sidwell Street/Old Tiverton Road area of Exeter, but this is my favourite, because in addition to having a great range of items, the staff are incredibly warm and friendly when you visit. They always greet you when you enter the shop, offer help if you seem to be having trouble finding something, and they just make the whole experience of shopping there really nice. Even though I actually live nearer to Continental Food Stores on Old Tiverton Road, I'd prefer to walk the extra five minutes to this store (I find the staff at the Old Tiverton Road store really rude, in contrast to the lovely people at this store!).

Serving over 300 Chinese restaurants and take away there is no better whole sale supplier in the…read moreSouth West.

In an attempt to provide what I think is a fair and accurate review of my experiences with this…read morestore, I do think that they stock a very wide variety of ethnic foods, and they have a particularly good selection of fresh vegetables, some of which you would struggle to find in your regular greengrocery store (hence the two star review, rather than one!). However, the manners of the staff in this store absolutely ruin the experience of shopping here, to the point that I've decided not to bother visiting again. Given that the Sidwell Street/Old Tiverton Road area of Exeter isn't exactly short of ethnic food stores, I'd much rather go somewhere where the staff are warm and friendly, and where I feel comfortable (e.g., R L Hira on Well Street, where the staff are absolutely lovely). Every time I've been in, the staff in this store don't acknowledge me at all, don't smile, barely say a word when I go to the till (no please or thank you), and generally make me feel awkward and uncomfortable whilst I'm browsing. Whilst I've not needed to ask them advice about their products, the last time I went in, I witnessed two members of staff being really rude to a woman who was (perfectly politely) trying to ask about the different sorts of fresh chillis they sell. They were so unhelpful and rude to her that I was absolutely cringing just having to witness it, and I couldn't wait to get out of there. Unless they sell something that you can't find in any of the other ethnic food stores in the area (fairly unlikely), I would recommend going elsewhere.